Firefighters and Parents Decry Understaffed Fire Stations and Schools

Report on the Meeting of the Amherst Town Council, November 17, 2025, Part 1

This was a hybrid meeting held in the Town Room of Town Hall. It was recorded. 

Present
Lynn Griesemer (President, District 2), Andy Steinberg, Mandi Jo Hanneke, and Ellisha Walker (at large), Cathy Schoen (District 1), Pat DeAngelis (District 2), George Ryan and Hala Lord (District 3), Pam Rooney and Jennifer Taub (District 4), and Ana Devlin Gauthier and Bob Hegner (District 5). Absent: Freke Ette (District 1)

Staff: Paul Bockelman (Town Manager) and Athena O’Keeffe (Council Clerk)

The Town Council passed unanimously a citation praising the Amherst Fire Department for its handling of the large fires that destroyed the private apartment dorm-style buildings at 47 and 57 Olympia Drive on Friday, November 7 and offered a standing ovation to the firefighters in attendance. Following this show of appreciation the council heard passionate pleas to redress inadequate staffing from the firefighters and the public.

The public forum on next year’s budget mandated by the Town Charter gave town public safety staff and supporters of the public schools a chance to plead for better funding. Sarah Forsaith, president of the Amherst Firefighters Local 1764, began, “The recent tragedy at Olympia Drive and the events that unfolded on Halloween have yet again illustrated a stark reality that the firefighters of Amherst have been voicing for decades—the staffing levels of the Amherst Fire Department are dangerously low. On any given day, these brave men and women are expected to provide the highest level of service to the 39,000 plus residents and the more than 34,000 students attending the multiple colleges with a minimum of only seven or eight firefighters on duty at any given time. These firefighters are tasked with staffing at least three ALS (advanced life support) ambulances and two engines that, by standard, would require at least 14 to staff.” 

She continued, “Instead, Amherst has chosen time and time again to run with fewer staff and risk the safety of its residents and firefighters by allowing engines to respond to calls with as few as two and sometimes one firefighter on board. This practice is downright dangerous, not only to the firefighters, but to the citizens that they have sworn to protect. Amherst is relying too heavily on mutual aid resources to staff our daily calls. Our ask, once again, is that the Town Council and Town Manager prioritize public safety by increasing fire department staffing. In this fiscal year, the town froze one of our positions. Commit to adding positions annually until Amherst reaches the national firefighter per capita average.”

Her comments were reinforced by firefighter Tom Valle. He said, “I urge everyone to prioritize staffing of the fire department. This year we’re on track to respond to roughly 7,200 emergency calls in Amherst and the other areas that we cover. Around Massachusetts, there are a lot of fire departments responding to half of that with the same staffing, and they are begging for more help. If you look at the standards, they’re doing it rightfully so.” Saying that few of the AFD live in Amherst, he added, “When we’re asking you for help, it’s not to protect my family and my stuff, it’s to protect yours. We want to provide for this community that I’ve grown to love over the last 20 years, and I consider myself a part of.”

Steven Sengebush, a Belchertown firefighter who lives in Amherst, echoed the above sentiments, saying, “We staff six firefighters and run about half that number [of calls as Amherst]. Staffing is probably the number one challenge for any department, and everyone knows which departments are providing the best quality of life for their employees and the best care for their community. Amherst has a reputation for devoted service and excellent care, but we all know that they are understaffed and that they are operating out of buildings that are far past their end of life. When a firefighter is forced out due to physical or mental injury, it is a tremendous loss to the department and the community.”

Firefighter Elijah Norman added, “This fire we had was not a fluke. This town has a massive fire load, and it keeps getting bigger, yet our staffing is not adequate to even handle our daily call volume. We are overwhelmed on a daily basis. If this problem isn’t fixed, people are going to die.”

“This fire we had was not a fluke. This town has a massive fire load, and it keeps getting bigger, yet our staffing is not adequate to even handle our daily call volume. We are overwhelmed on a daily basis. If this problem isn’t fixed, people are going to die.”
Elijah Norman, Firefighter

Resident Allegra Clark remembered when the AFD responded within five minutes of her call for an emergency over the summer. She noted that probably would not have been the case on Halloween or November 7. She stated, “I think that we need to go back to UMass, because I do think there is a significant impact from them being in this town to the usage of the fire department, and I think we need to ask for an increase in what they’re providing to the department, specifically staffing and equipment-wise.”

Passionate Support Voiced for Schools
Many of those voicing support for Amherst’s schools were touched by the pleas of the firefighters and added support for the AFD to their statements, but the pleas for more school funding were no less passionate. School supporters stood outside Town Hall with signs before the meeting, and several spoke before the council.

Esther Azar said that it seems that the schools are seen as the enemy of the town in budget deliberations. She recommended that free cash be set aside for a stabilization fund for the schools like the town has for its general fund. 

Parent Alex Lopez noted that “we have the worst annual tradition where we all get together and celebrate our reliability to Standard and Poor.  We celebrate how our capital fund is doing and the ongoing construction projects around town. And then we lament the fact that we don’t have staff in our schools or our fire departments. We wonder why it’s unsustainable as we continue to invest money into buildings but not the people inside of them. I’m hoping to see different. I’m hoping to see accountability.”

Another parent, Angelica Bernal, lamented the lack of funding for summer bilingual education programs and staffing in special education, citing high teacher turnover, insufficient paraprofessional support staff, and lack of full-time staff positions that continue to remain unfilled.  She said, “I worry that we are no longer an attractive school district. The climate of austerity that I have had to see for the last four years is one that’s left us wondering whether this town really cares about schools and providing our town’s children with a quality education.”

Parent Cathleen Mitchell stated, “I’m concerned about whether we are meeting our legal and moral obligations to our youngest residents.” She advised that the amount of town revenue reserved for capital be reduced to make more available for operating expenses, noting that the FY27 plan for 1.5% exceeds the 10% goal in financial policy. School Committee member Deb Leonard noted that, while the town’s operating budget dropped from 85% of the total revenue in 2010 to 77% in FY26, the capital budget share increased 300%. “I’ve heard that growing capital has long been part of the plan,” she said. “Can somebody please tell us what the plan was for the rest of.us?”

Ellen Jedry Guidera, another parent, cited the increased class sizes over recent years in concert with increased needs of students since COVID and asked for no more cuts to educators. School committee member elect Laura Jane Hunter agreed, noting that classes are getting larger with less support for staff. This sentiment was echoed by Jesus Acevedo.

Parent Rachel Hall was more emphatic, saying, “I sit here tonight and listen to your overview of the budget, talk about our amazing financial standing, our surplus, our free cash, and our fancy capital projects. It’s quite devastating to hear this as a parent of a public school kid. We moved here for the schools. Now, we can’t stay out of the papers for negative, preventable incidents. Administration is constantly quitting because they are not supported. Pipes are filled with lead in our schools; teachers are fleeing the district; kids are being unnecessarily physically restrained due to lack of certified paraprofessionals; IEPs [Individual Education Plans] are not being met; [and] there’s zero designated funds for the sixth-grade academy.”

Long-term resident Pat Ononibaku summed up the budget discussion, “During the budget season we’re told that this year’s budget is going to be really tight, and yet we put tax dollars into infrastructure. We take out loans that we cannot afford, and then ignore people.”

Overview on the FY27 Budget
As part of the public forum on the budget, Town Manager Paul Bockelman and Finance Director Sean Mangano gave an overview of the FY27 budget. The report highlighted the town’s strong financial foundation maintaining a AA+ bond rating and managed, steady growth as well as success in acquiring grants. Challenges cited were: funding operating budgets responsibly and fairly, managing increases in health insurance and other fixed costs, building good working relationships among stakeholders, building long-term fiscal sustainability, prioritizing support for major capital projects, and recognizing pressure on taxpayers.

Mangano’s initial budget projection recommends a 3.5% increase for each town division: municipal, library, elementary schools, and regional schools. This is significantly more than the 2.5% increase recommended at this point of last year’s budget. The actual increase in FY26 was 4%, with a one-time 5% increase to the schools. The projection will be refined as more data is available. Up-to-date information can be found here. 

The timetable for the budget process is listed here. Residents are encouraged to submit comments to the Town Council or Town Manager (ADD LINK).

Citation in Recognition of Public Safety and DPW for November 7 Fire
The Council unanimously approved a “Citation in Recognition of Exemplary Service Following the Fire at 47 and 57 Olympia Drive”. The citation commends the AFD, police, dispatch, and Department of Public Works for their timely response avoiding serious injury and thanks the 32 other municipalities that offered mutual aid during the incident.

Property Tax Assessments Will Again Be Equal for Commercial and Residential Properties
As in previous years, the Town Council unanimously rejected options to tax commercial establishments at a higher rate than residential property. It also decided against giving a lower rate to owner-occupied properties and to small businesses. 

Assessor Kim Mew noted that, because Amherst has so few commercial properties and most of those would qualify as small businesses with less than 10 employees, a split rate would make a minimal difference in the taxes owed by homeowners, but greatly impact the few larger businesses in town. Apartment buildings and the residential parts of mixed-use buildings are considered residential properties. Farms are considered commercial. According to Mew, residential property comprises 89% of the town, while commercial is 6%, manufacturing is less than 1%, and personal property (which includes utility poles and wires) is 4.8%. 

About 68% of residences in Amherst are owner-occupied, about the same tax value as the non-owner-occupied properties. Mew pointed out that providing a lower tax rate to owner-occupied properties might hurt renters and also might unintentionally impact properties that have been put in trust with family members who are not residents of the property.

The Town Council will meet every Monday until December 15 to complete its work before the end of the year.